So Does Tyron Woodley Think Robbie Lawler Should Get a Title Shot? No…no he Does Not

Following UFC 214, Dana White floated the idea of having Robbie Lawler fight Tyron Woodley again, but the welterweight champ’s made it more than clear he’s not on board.

Both Lawler and Woodley fought at UFC 214 this past weekend. Lawler earned a hard fought and very entertaining decision win over Donald Cerrone. Woodley, meanwhile, defended the 170 title by scoring a UD victory over Demian Maia. The fight, however, was far from thrilling, and was widely panned. As a result, White announced afterwards that Woodley will not fight Georges St-Pierre next, and also said he was thinking about tapping Lawler for a title shot.

Well, Woodley appeared on “The MMA Hour” on Monday, and here’s what the powerful wrestler had to say about White’s proposal (quote via MMA Fighting):

“Why do I fight Lawler? What has he done in this last year besides crawl up in a ball and hide?” Woodley asked. “That’s what Ronda Rousey did. He didn’t do that when he knocked out everybody else. I didn’t do that when I got knocked out. I came back, I shook myself else off, I got myself back up.

“I just don’t feel like someone that’s taken a year off, as much as I know Dana loves Robbie and the fans love Robbie — I love Robbie, Robbie’s a dope fighter, we were friends before that fight, I feel bad that we haven’t really communicated that much since then — but I just don’t feel as if a fighter who I knocked out in 46 seconds takes a year off, (then) comes back and wins a fight kinda close, and jumps right back into the title picture. So, there’s no clear contenders right now.”

Now, even Lawler’s biggest supporters would have to concede that it is a bit out of the ordinary to be talking about him receiving a title shot already. Lawler defended the belt two times before he faced Woodley last July, and was KO’d. So, it’s not like we’re talking about someone who held the belt for several years. So, while a lot of folks would love to see that rematch, you can understand Woodley’s take on this.

Also, White proposed this bout before it was confirmed that Woodley tore his labrum while fighting Maia. So, it’s not clear yet if White’s still upset about Woodley’s performance, considering this new information. Further, since Woodley’s going to be sidelined for a little while, chances are Lawler will be booked for another fight in the interim.